EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE START OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 509BC The Etruscan king Tarquin the Proud, was

as overthrown and the Romans set up a republic. The Republic continued for almost 500 years till the 1st century BC. Now a civil war began between Marius and Sulla. Sulla won when Marius died unecpectedly. Sulla distrusted Mariuss nephew,Julius Caesar who left the country for a while, returning when Sulla was dead. Now the power struggle was between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. For a while they had an alliance when Pompey married Caesars daughter, but she died in childbirth and another civil war began. Caesar crossed the River Rubicon from Gaul and said Let the die be cast. Eventually, Pompey was defeated and killed. Caesar was now dictator of Rome, but he wanted to be king.

SULLA

POMPEY THE GREAT

OCTAVIAN (CAESAR AUGUSTUS)

BRUTUS

But many important Romans, including Brutus did not want a king in Rome, they loved the Republic and decided to assassinate Julius Caesar. On the Ides of March, 44B.C. he was killed at a meeting of the senate and fell at the foot of a statue of his old enemy, Pompey the Great. Another civil war followed, between the assassins and the supporters of Julius Caesar. The most important of the latter group were his friend Antony and his nephew and heir, Octavian. At the Battle of Philippi, in Greece, Antony and Octavian defeated the assassins and Octavian was declared Caesars successor. He was only nineteen. At first things went badly between himself and Antony, but were patched up when Antony married Octavians sister. The two men decided to split roman territories between them, Antony to rule the east and Octavian to rule the west. Everything went wrong when Antony went to Egypt and fell in love with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.